


treason day

by Skyson



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fireworks, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Holidays, One Shot, Short & Sweet, The Scooby Gang (BtVS)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25078333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyson/pseuds/Skyson
Summary: Fluff, flirting, and fireworks.
Relationships: Rupert Giles/Buffy Summers
Comments: 10
Kudos: 48





	treason day

**Author's Note:**

> This was an idea I had last year, but only scribbled down in some tags on a Tumblr post. This year, I decided to take a brief reprieve from _Bad Idea_ and put this one to paper (so to speak). Hope you enjoy this little bit of fluff!

“Happy Fourth of July, Giles!” Xander and Anya crowed together as the whole gang stood gathered at Giles’ front door.

“Happy treason day, you ungrateful colonials.” Giles grumbled good-naturedly, opening the door wider and stepping aside to let them enter. “What brings you- ”

“There’s a fireworks show at the beach, Giles, and you’re coming.” Buffy announced determinedly, not even giving him a chance to protest.

He opened his mouth to do so, anyway, but Xander folded his arms across his chest and Willow put on her most determined resolve-face. Giles sighed, and closed his mouth, and Buffy smiled brightly at him.

“Good choice, Watcher-mine. Now go get changed.”

He preened for a moment at her pet-name - she’d only recently started using it again in the last few months and it made him happier than probably what was strictly appropriate, but -

“Excuse me?” He realized what else she’d said, and she gave him a considering look.

“I’m sure you don’t own a swimsuit,” She sighed in disappointment, and he furrowed his brow in startled surprise at that, “but put on something a little more beach-friendly? You’ll overheat in that.” She gestured at his jeans and light sweater, and then muttered, “I don’t know how you aren’t already.”

He was about to protest _that_ , but then he realized that their attire wasn’t quite their usual either; all shorts and loose shirts and, in Buffy’s case, some sort of thin kimono-type cardigan thrown over a quite short pair of high-waisted jeans and a high-neck halter top.

His Slayer was nothing if not fashionable (he assumed this was the fashion, these days), and he couldn’t figure out whether he wanted to stare at her some more, or roll his eyes in fond amusement.

“C’mon, I’ll help you,” Buffy sighed and before he knew it she had taken his hand and was leading him up the stairs and into his loft.

“H-help?” He wondered, his heart lurching somewhere between terror and desire.

After her semester had ended and she’d moved back home with her mother and sister for the summer, Buffy had been making a point to spend a lot of time at his apartment, and the Magic Box. He knew most of it was to get away from her sister for a while, but she was also making a concerted effort to focus on her training, and learning more about her gifts and what it meant to be the Slayer.

He was her Watcher, again, in a way that he hadn’t been since high school graduation, and if that wasn’t amazing enough - Buffy had been flirting with him, too.

Not constantly, mind. She never made any overt gestures and he was entirely too terrified to, but she was definitely flirting. Giles savored their friendship and their strengthened bond as Watcher and Slayer far too much to seriously flirt back, but he knew it was obvious to her that her attentions were… appreciated. And also returned, even if he was too worried of the risks to return those attentions overtly.

Now, having her in his bedroom and digging through his dresser and armoire for proper beach attire… it was very nearly verging on too much.

“Buffy…”

“Wow, I didn’t even know you owned linen pants!” Buffy exclaimed in surprise as she tugged a pair of trousers out from the bottom of one of the drawers. “These are perfect.” She set them on the end of his bed and went back to his armoire, rifling through the hanging shirts.

He glanced down at the trousers warily; he hadn’t worn them since last summer - and then, he only broke them out when he was doing some rigorous house cleaning and was sure that he would be alone.

“Hmm… I guess one of these lighter button-ups would do - but no undershirts, mister. I don’t want you dying of heat stroke out there.” Buffy was mostly talking to herself, her back still toward him. “It’s still crazy hot outside, even this close to sunset.” She paused, and then pulled out a shirt. “Ralph Lauren, Giles, really?” Her tone was lightly teasing as she turned toward him, the shirt lifted up against her own body in admiration, and Giles held his breath for a second.

He would much rather Buffy wear that shirt… and nothing else.

“Here ya go,” She didn’t seem to notice his floundering panic as she tossed the shirt atop the linen trousers and stepped by him to head back down the stairs. “I’ll go wait,” She paused within reaching distance, however, and the corner of her lip quirked upward slightly. “Unless you’d still like my help?”

He jerked his gaze toward her, wondering if he’d heard her correctly or if he’d just imagined it, but she was still giving him that little grin.

“I- I can manage.” He croaked, and her grin widened.

“Alright…” Her hand touched his elbow just for a moment, her fingers trailing against his skin, and he didn’t quite register her saying something about sandals.

He stood in place for a moment, alone, and heard the others chit-chat together downstairs. Even in the late hour of the day, the idea of spending a few hours out on the beach was not entirely exciting to him. While not nearly as cold as the water on some of the beaches back home, the Pacific was always a bit on the chilly side, plus sand _always_ got absolutely everywhere and in places sand should never be.

On the other hand, there was Buffy… Buffy, in that see-through kimono and most likely the other half of her bikini swimsuit beneath those shorts… Buffy, heavily flirting with him.

In the next moment he was fumbling with the latch of his corduroy’s and thinking of where his slip-on shoes were tucked away. He didn’t own sandals, of course not, but those should be easy enough to manage…

Once he was changed and as ready as he would ever be, Giles squared his shoulders and went downstairs to meet the others. As expected, they gave him a bit of a hard time about his ‘relaxed look’ (Willow) and ‘beach bum attire’ (Xander), but the look in Buffy’s eyes was the only thing he cared about.

“I thought I invited my tweedy Watcher on this shindig,” She grinned, her teasing much lighter than the others, and admiring. “I’m impressed,” She added, and it wasn’t nearly teasing enough. The others didn’t seem to notice her tone or the glint in her eye, but they did notice the blush on Giles’ face.

“Aw, come on Giles, we’re proud of you!” Xander patted Giles’ shoulder. “First we got you out of all that tweed, and now we’ve gotten you out of those frumpy sweaters. Little steps, buddy!”

Giles rolled his eyes and stepped out from under Xander’s hand, accepting the lotion offered from Oz and going to the bathroom to cover his face, neck, and limbs before they left. If he was going to do this, he was determined not to become a lobster as a result.

**\---**

Thankfully, Giles didn’t have to worry about anything; the gang was well-prepared. Willow and Buffy both had large bags stuffed with towels, sun cream, water, and snacks, and Xander and Oz both claimed to have saved up plenty of money to cover everybody’s food if they wanted to buy something from one of the food trucks that would apparently be there.

As it turned out, freshly grilled hotdogs weren’t all that bad with a little bit of mustard, and Giles eventually found himself lounging in the sand with a comfortably full belly and not _too_ much sweat on his brow. It was nicer that they’d waited to come out until closer to sundown, which he imagined had been for his benefit, as they had also discussed plans to come back tomorrow for the whole day.

“How goes it, Watcher-mine?” Buffy asked, folding herself down onto the sand next to him with a grace only a Slayer could manage.

“I must admit, the orchestra is quite talented.” Giles told her, and she turned her gaze to follow his along the beach a number of yards, where a makeshift stage had been set up well out of the surf and a full-sized orchestra was playing various classical music.

“Wait until they get to Ode to Joy.” Buffy smiled. “It’s always my favorite part.” Giles raised his eyebrows in surprise, and she rolled hers. “I _do_ know some classical music, Giles. Just not your _oldies_.”

Her teasing held no barb though, and he only huffed out a partial laugh instead of snarking anything back.

“They’ll time up some of the fireworks explosions with it and it’s always super cool.” She explained, and he smiled warmly as he watched her. “What?” She asked self-consciously, when he hadn’t said anything, and he reached out to brush a strand of her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear.

The rest of the gang shuffled around the mildly crowded beach to collapse into the sand in front of Giles and Buffy, wet from the water they’d been frolicking about in.

“They’re starting to kick everybody out, which means the show’s gonna start soon!” Xander announced excitedly, digging into the bag near Giles’ feet for a towel to scrub over his head and drape across his shoulders.

Giles pulled his hand away from Buffy, though none of them seemed to have noticed the more-than-friendly gesture.

“They shoot them off from barges out in the ocean,” Oz explained to Anya’s perplexed pout. Apparently she hadn’t wanted to get out of the water, yet. “Just a safety precaution.”

“Happy Fourth of July!” A young toddler stumbled behind Buffy and Giles, joyfully greeting everyone he passed as his mother followed dutifully behind with a slightly apologetic smile.

Giles smiled warmly in return, and at the child as well, as he returned the greeting. The boy beamed and went on with his journey, and Giles waited until they were far enough away before he frowned and grumbled under his breath.

“What was that?” Buffy asked in a laughing tone, likely having heard him clearly.

“Bloody colonials.” He repeated himself anyway, getting a real laugh out of her and smiling as well; that had been his intention. Mostly. “Complete strangers keep wishing me a happy Independence Day.” He pouted. “It’s insulting.”

“Insulting?” Buffy repeated, laughing harder.

“I’m English!” He pointed out in protest, and the others, having heard this part of the conversation, chuckled at him as well.

“Chant a few ‘God Save the Queen’-s and just enjoy some pretty, colorful, explosions in the sky, Giles.” Xander teased.

As the sky began to grow truly dark and the crowd settled in anticipation for the fireworks, Xander and Willow began passing snacks to Oz and Anya, the four of them starving after goofing off in the surf for a couple of hours.

Buffy had joined them, for a bit, but she’d spent more time lounging next to Giles, not that he minded. They hadn’t talked much; she was content to lay in the warm sun and he was just as content to watch her. Now, sitting in a half-lotus with one knee bent, Giles relaxed his weight back onto one hand and watched the sky as the first few fireworks went off.

The band wasn’t playing Ode to Joy yet, but they were playing something patriotic and he had to admit, this was preferable to sitting alone in his flat with a demonology text in front of him.

Having Buffy next to him, her hip against his knee, definitely assisted in that thinking.

The gang quickly were pulled into their own world again, ‘ooo-ing’ and ‘ahh-ing’ at the fireworks together, and with the almost-darkness around them and the intermediate-sized crowd, Giles felt like he was in his own little world with Buffy.

Perhaps she felt so as well, because she slipped her hand to the sand beneath his outstretched arm and behind his back, leaning on it until her shoulder pressed against his arm.

“Thanks for not putting up too much of a fuss.” Buffy murmured to him, her face close enough to be heard overtop the noise of the cheering kids and explosions of gunpowder and sulphur. “They’re cool, right?”

“They’re very beautiful.” Giles admitted honestly, turning his head a little toward hers, knowing it would put them within inches of one another. Briefly lit up by colorful light, he saw that her eyes were lingering on his mouth, and suddenly his heart was racing and his skin felt warm for reasons other than the sun.

“Everyone’s pretty distracted…” She mused slowly, glancing around them, and Giles couldn’t help but glance toward the Scoobies as well - they were the only ones he was concerned about making a scene if they noticed the flirting going on behind them.

“They did come for this very reason,” Giles pointed out, gesturing his hand toward the sky, and Buffy smiled a little, her eyes lingering on his mouth again.

He didn't know how much time had passed when she eventually turned back to watch the sky, and he stared at her profile as the light and shadows played off the curves of her face. He knew her face as well as he knew his own; the power of expression in her brow alone, the curve of her cheeks, the shape of her nose… and yes, even the curve of her lips.

Those lips in mention were slightly parted, now, as she had her head tilted a bit upward, and out of all the times Giles has wanted to kiss her, none have been as strong as now.

He reached over with his other hand and gently drew his fingers along the far side of her jaw, guiding her to face him again. He rubbed his thumb against her cheek, and she shifted further onto her hip to face him more completely.

“Buffy,” He began softly, wondering that he should say something first, or perhaps ask her permission… though he was sure that her expression was quite clear. She wanted him to kiss her.

She was the one who leaned in closer, closing the distance between them, and Giles hesitantly tilted his head down a little to meet her. He was momentarily surprised when she turned slightly to brush her cheek against his, but then felt her lips move against his ear.

“Let’s make out while everyone’s still distracted.” The feeling of her mouth alone would have made him tremble, but it was her words that made him react enough that she noticed. He tilted his head to kiss her without pulling away, relishing in the softness of her cheek before he was soon met with the softness of her mouth.

The fireworks might as well have been going off inside of his body, for all that he felt in that single moment. Everything else immediately fell away, save for Buffy’s lips confidently on his, her hand landing warmly against the front of his shirt. He kissed her slowly, not deepening it yet but wanting to map the curve of her lips with his own.

Her fingers gently gripped around the low opened collar of his shirt, holding on to him, as she kissed him back with a gentle fervor that made him light-headed.

He had to pull away to catch his breath and bring himself back to earth, and she was smiling and staring at his mouth as she licked her lips and leaned a little bit away. He felt like his chest was heaving, as if he’d just gone on a long run, and then Buffy lifted her eyes to meet his, and her smile widened, and Giles felt himself smile lopsidedly back. He felt giddy, like he was fifteen years old again and just shared his first real kiss of his life.

An explosion much louder than the ones previous went off above them, making them both jump and look toward the sky as large sparkles of color rained down over the water. The crowd dutifully gasped in amazement, a few kids squealed (“ _that_ one was _loud_!”), and Oz and Willow snuggled up together more comfortably as they murmured in conversation together that Giles couldn’t hear.

Anya and Xander were already cuddling pretty heavily, definitely just as focused on one another as they were on the fireworks show, but Giles knew Xander wouldn’t let Anya get _too_ handsy while there were so many families and kids around. At least, he hoped… because he wasn’t about to start playing guardian of the group again. That ship had sailed away along with their high school diplomas, and besides that, he’d rather be getting a little handsy himself, with Buffy, perhaps…

Mentally shaking his head a little more clear, his heart nearly filled to bursting, Giles leaned further back to rest on his elbow. He felt cheerfully content with his lips still tingling from Buffy’s and her hand still a warm weight against his chest. Buffy stretched out a little more and slid her hand to his arm, a slightly more innocent touch as they quietly watched the fireworks for a few minutes.

They really were beautifully done; timed up with the various music the orchestra was still playing, some of which Giles recognized from the movies the gang had watched at his place over the summer. There were different colors and shapes interspersed throughout as well, much more creative than what Giles originally expected.

All he could really focus on was the woman lounging in the sand beside him, though.

“What’s it going to take to get you through the next step?” Buffy was suddenly whispering in his ear again, and he flushed with embarrassment for a moment, wondering if his distraction was obvious.

“N-next step in w-what?” He wondered nervously, having no idea what she was referring to, not daring to hope it could be in terms of a relationship. A snog on the beach - even a fantastic one - did not a girlfriend make, after all.

Buffy smirked slowly, and lifted her hand to trail her fingernail down the hollow of his throat and over the revealed skin of his chest, stopping once she reached the closed button of his shirt and curling her finger into it to tug on it gently.

“Getting you out of your layers.” She teased, and he swallowed deeply, now nervous for the hot arousal that was coursing through him.

Mentally thinking of Quentin Travers in a bikini, to keep himself from getting hard, Giles slowly returned a half-smile, and leaned closer to nuzzle his nose against hers.

“And make it easier for you? I’m far more interested to see what you come up with.”

“Ah,” She mused, smiling against his lips, “the game is on, Watcher-mine.”

A small shiver of thrill went through him, and soon they were back to the snogging, soft and slow and deep and filling Giles with a delightful excitement he hadn’t felt in some time. His arousal was still there, but it was the gentle and warm kind, more of a soothing comfort than anything demanding. Kissing Buffy was wonderful in and of itself - he would take his time and bask in it, and not worry about tomorrow.

She brushed her fingers slowly through the little bit of chest hair peeking out from his shirt, and made a happy humming noise into his mouth. He stroked his tongue against her lip, curiously, and she opened up immediately, granting him entrance to explore her mouth at leisure. She tasted sweet and warm, like sunshine, and he moaned softly as she curled her tongue against his. Her giggle danced through him and into his bones, and just as he leaned to press in closer, she flatted her palm against his chest and pushed him back a few inches.

“Shh!” She laughed, pulling her hand away just as Xander looked back toward them over his shoulder.

“What’s the funny?” He wondered, a boyish delight on his face. Giles was a bit amused by their childish glee at some colorful explosions in the sky, but it pleased him also. They all certainly deserved the reprieve from the evil and darkness that shadowed their lives.

“Just Giles, being all stuffy and British.” Buffy announced, rolling her eyes in perfect characterization. She didn't look flustered in the least, but Giles felt slightly lost for a moment.

“I wouldn’t think he _could_ be stuffy, in that outfit,” Anya mused, eyeing Giles’ bare toes not for the first time, as if they perplexed her.

“Trust me, An,” Xander slung his arm across her shoulders as they faced the ocean again, “His capability for stuffiness will _constantly_ surprise you.”

Giles huffed under his breath, but in the cover of darkness Buffy had slipped her hand into his on the sand, and curled her fingers beneath his palm. She lay back fully to look at the sky, her shoulder very close to where he was leaning on his elbow, enough that if she tilted her head, she could touch his arm.

He looked down at her for a while, happy to watch her watch the fireworks, until he remembered about the others and he eventually lay back as well, curling his other arm beneath his head as he marveled more at the warmth of her hand in his than he did the fantastic colors in the sky.

**\---**

When they pulled up behind the BMW, Buffy grabbed her bag and opened up the sliding door as Giles slid out of the passenger seat.

“I should do a quick patrol; I’ll see you guys later,” Buffy announced, and Oz twisted in the driver’s seat to look at her.

“What’s your route tonight? I could drop you off on the way back to the dorms,”

“Nah, it’s cool. Thanks though! Gotta chat some Watcher stuff first.” She explained, and hopped out of the van and shut the door behind her. Giles hoped he looked casual as he headed toward the courtyard, lingering a bit more slowly to listen in. Willow crawled over the console to take over Giles’ abandoned seat up front, and leaned her head out the window.

“You sure you don’t want any company?” She asked, and Buffy shook her head as she propped her bag casually on her shoulder.

“I’m good.”

Giles said nothing as he unlocked the door and led the way into his apartment, suddenly feeling a bit nervous again. He hadn’t expected Buffy to follow after him, and now they were here, in familiar territory, completely alone. Reality was upon them, and he didn’t know how Buffy was going to deal with it. Take a deep breath, he turned to face her as she closed the door behind her, and watched as she carefully lowered her bag onto the chair by the door.

“Tomorrow,” She said thoughtfully, “could I bring over some Chinese, before patrol?” Giles furrowed his brow slightly, having not expected that.

“Tomorrow?” He repeated. She was talking about tomorrow, already?

“Yeah. We could have dinner, before I go out on patrol…?” Buffy’s nervousness was almost visibly nonexistent; he only noticed it because he knew her so well.

“What if… could I also join you on patrol, afterward?” He requested, only letting a little bit of his hope slip through into his tone. He tucked his hands into his pockets and looked down slightly, forcing himself to keep still. He’d very much missed patrolling with her. She was the one who looked surprised, now, but then a bit amused.

“I’d like that.” She nodded slowly, and then suddenly half-smiled. “Dinner and patrol; the highlight of dating your Watcher, I guess.”

“Dating?” He repeated, looking up into her eyes again, and she hesitated for a beat, but then nodded firmly.

“Yeah, dating. Cuz I- I want to kiss you, again.” He took a breath at her pause, and she added in admittance, “I want to more than kiss you. So… yeah.” She hesitantly glanced away and back again, unable to quite meet his gaze fully.

Giles stared at her for a moment, his lips parted slightly in surprise, but then he smiled, unable to hide the relief and pleasure her words gave him. She did a double-take and stared at him more directly, and he ducked his head to hide the fact his smile was growing out of his control; feeling like something silly and goofy on his face.

“Dinner and patrol.” He said, managing to at least close his lips into a softer kind of smile as he lifted his head again. “I’d like that.” She visibly relaxed, and beamed back at him, and his heart seemed to flip inside of his chest.

“And… the other stuff?”

“Dating?”

“A- and kissing, and…… et cetera.” One of her eyebrows twitched slightly as her eyes flickered down over his body, the whole gesture almost too quick for him to catch.

“…I- ” He lifted his chin up, his spine going straight as he fully acknowledged that - Buffy _wanted_ him. “I would- ” He swallowed as he started to stammer unintelligibly again, and finally just went with, “Yes.”

Buffy looked him in the eyes for a moment, perhaps gauging his sincerity, and then she grinned again, and he stared back in wonder. He was overwhelmed with the desire to kiss her, then, and he dug his toes into the carpet to keep himself in place. Buffy took a step back toward the door again, looking a bit overwhelmed herself, and picked up her bag.

“I should go…”

“Are you patrolling, tonight?” He wondered whether or not that had only been a ruse for their friends.

“Yeah, probably a little.” She nodded, still watching him. “Just a short one, nothing too serious. I just need to get some energy out or I’ll never sleep tonight.” She smiled ruefully, and he tilted his head slightly. She didn’t seem all that energetic or frantic, to him.

“Energy?” He questioned, and she hesitated, and then chuckled nervously.

“Wanting.” She admitted, and he blinked, his mind filled with memory from just an hour ago of her tongue in his mouth and a soft moan in her throat. Her hand scrambled against the doorknob behind her, suddenly, and he wanted to stop her,

“Buffy,”

She shook her head at him though, clearly aware of the soft wanting in his own voice, and he swallowed and pressed his lips together as he refrained from reaching out for her.

“You could… stay,” He barely managed to get the word out, and as soon as he did he took a deep breath inward and held it. He hadn’t felt so nervous and terrified for a response in years. Buffy looked at him longingly for a moment, and then released her own breath and shook her head again.

“I can’t,” She told him gently. “I want to _try_ to take this slow with you. I love you.”

He blinked at her again, his mouth parting in surprise as he heard those words fall from her lips in such a calm and factual manner. She smiled ruefully at him again, and managed to open up the door behind her.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Giles, okay?” She said, and he nodded and murmured,

“Okay.” He was in shock, that was all. His heart hadn’t started beating again yet. Or, perhaps it was beating too fast? “For our date.” He murmured again, mostly to himself, but Buffy with her Slayer hearing had heard him.

She skipped forward suddenly to press her lips against his cheek, warm and smelling of sun cream and the sea, and then she was out of reach before he could return the affection.

“Yep.” She was beaming again, and then the door was closed and she was gone and he was left standing there in the middle of the room with his hands still tucked into his pockets.

After a beat, he moved over to lean his hips back against the edge of his desk, and took a deep breath. Buffy loved him. More than that, Buffy loved him in the sense that she _wanted_ him, too. She’d kissed him this evening, _a lot_ , and she wanted to kiss him more. She wanted… more.

Giles grinned suddenly, in amazement, and put his hand on the back of his desk chair to grip the wood tightly, overwhelmed with joy for a moment. Once he managed to get a rein on his emotions again, he cleared his throat and straightened up, heading into the kitchen.

There was no way he would be getting any sleep tonight, either, without the help of some calming chamomile.

**\---**

He was just removing the kettle from the stove when his door burst open again, only to slam shut before he could fully turn around in alarm.

“Buffy?” She was coming around the counter and into the kitchen as he turned the stove off, and without warning leapt up against him and wrapped her legs and her arms around him.

“How about we do breakfast in the morning, instead?” She breathed in a rush, pulling his glasses from his face and tossing them only somewhat gently on the counter. His arms were already going around her as well at this point, and he smiled both in relief and with excitement.

“And just like that,” He was a bit breathless himself, mostly from the surprise of her abrupt return and a little because of her warm body against his, “you’ve persuaded me right through the next step.”

She grinned and kissed him deeply, beginning to undress him as he carried her toward the stairs and up to the loft.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies for any mistakes - I wrote this out pretty quickly since I wanted to get it posted on the holiday. Happy Fourth to my fellow bloody colonials!


End file.
